Entries Tagged as: creative every day 2010

This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. This check-in is for a little less than a week, as I'll start a new one for the beginning of 2011. After that, the check-ins will return to every Monday.

Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/27/10 - 12/31/10.

The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.

You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!

Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.

Happy Creating!

Through woods and mountain passes
The winds, like anthems, roll. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I like to pick a theme word for the year and usually they come to me pretty easily, but this year I've been having a hard time picking one.

I went through a whole brainstorming process to come to this word and I like the path it led me on, so I thought I'd share it with you, just in case you're trying to figure out your own word for 2011.

I started out thinking of the words nest, home, and birth (can you tell what's on my mind?), but none of them felt quite right, so I kept thinking on it, letting words roll around in my mind. As I brainstormed, I thought of the words: becoming, allow, trust, and adventure.

Then I thought about breaking down the year into quarters. I already know that in first quarter of the year, I want to focus on creating space and tidying up, both in my business and home. There's all sorts of preparations to do as I get ready for the little baby who is currently kicking me in the organs.

And then I figured the next quarter would be a quieter period (in some ways), as I adjust to motherhood, deal with sleep deprivation, and help our little one adjust to life out in the world.

And then I imagined there would be a time of adjustment to life as it becomes.

And that's when the word hit me: Metamorphosis. Perfect! Just like the butterfly, I'll be spending time preparing, going within, and then transforming into something new and different. Certainly an exciting time, an adventurous one, perhaps even a little frightening. But beautiful.

I made this little art piece today to commemorate my word for the year.

Have you chosen a word for 2011? Have you thought about expressing it in a creative way, that you can keep around to remind you of your focus for the year?

This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!

Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/20/10 - 12/26/10.

The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.

You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!

Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.

Happy Creating!

The inner - what is it?
if not intensified sky,
hurled through with birds
and deep with
the winds of homecoming.- Rainer Marie Rilke

Seeing teeny-tiny snowflakes dancing through the air this week has made me want to make my own paper snowflakes. I don't think I've made them since I was a kid!

I pulled out some fun paper I had laying around, and spent some time cutting away tonight. Later, I strung them all onto dental floss using tape and hung them from a shelf in the family room. I think my favorite part about them is the cool shadows they make on the wall!

This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!

Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/13/10 - 12/19/10.

The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.

You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!

Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.

Happy Creating!

No cloud above, no earth below, A universe of sky and snow. ~John Greenleaf Whittier

This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!

Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/6/10 - 12/12/10.

The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.

You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 for the rest of this year and then #CED2011 beginning in January to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!

Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. You can read more about the theme and some ideas to get you started here.

Happy Creating!

The leaves lay like hands upon the ground.
When the wind rustles them, they applaud softly. ~Laura E. Stevens

At the end of each month I will announce the totally optional theme for the following month. Continuing with the elements theme, for the month of December, the theme will be the element of Air. As always, this month's theme for the Creative Every Day Challenge is totally optional. Use it if it inspires you, continue being creative every day in your own way if it doesn't, or do something in between.

I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month on the blog to help keep you inspired. You can use the posts here for jumping off points or interpret the theme in your own creative way. If you need some suggestions, here are a few ideas to get you started. You could:

*Get outside and take pictures of the sky at different times of day.

*Use hot air in your work. Try blowing wet media with a blower or try encaustic.

*Capture the movement of wind in drawing or painting.

*Make clouds out of fabric.

*Focus on the air or negative space in your work.

*Write a poem about the way air feels on your skin.

*Turn on a fan and take some fun wind-blown self-portraits.

*Create more airspace around you, by clearing out some clutter.

How to use the CED themes:

If you're feeling creatively stuck or blocked at any point during the month, use the theme as a source of inspiration to get you moving. Feel free to focus on the theme in your creative activities for the entire month or as much as you'd like.

Using the theme is entirely optional for CED participants. Use it if it inspires you, ignore it if it doesn't. I'll be sharing posts throughout the month around the theme (among other things) to get you thinking about how to incorporate it into your life. I'd love to hear how you use the theme in your creative world.

And have fun with it!

The sky and the strong wind have moved the spirit inside me till I am carried away trembling with joy. -Uvavnuk

p.p.s. I will have info about signing up for the 2011 Challenge later this week. In the meantime, I would love to hear some of your ideas for monthly themes for next year. Brainstorm away in the comments!

This weekly check-in post is a place for Creative Every Day Challenge participants to share their creative activities. Normally, I post these on Monday morning, but with Art Every Day Month just ending, this one will be for a shorter week!

Ways to share: Once you've signed up, you can leave a comment on this post and/or use the "Mr. Linky" widget below to link to a blog post(s) about your creative activities during the days of 12/1/10 - 12/5/10.

The widget below is an optional method of sharing your creativity that makes it easier for others to check out what you're up to. You can use it to link to a blog post (or posts) or flickr image during the week listed. Or if you have a bunch of posts and don't want to link to all of them, you can link to your main blog page once. Do it in a way that makes sense and is fun for you! If you're unsure about how to use the widget, check out the "How to use the Mr. Linky widget" section on the Creative Every Day Challenge page. (If you're reading this in a RSS reader or email subscription, you will not see the "Mr. Linky widget", so click on over to the blog to use it.) If the Mr. Linky widget is missing from this blog post, it's probably a problem with their server and it will come back as soon as it's fixed. You can always leave your link in the comments.

You can also take advantage of the great CED flickr group to post your images and see what others are up to. If you're on Twitter, there's a growing Twitter list of CED participants and you can use the hashtag #CED2010 to help others find your Creative Every Day tweets!

Theme: The (totally optional) theme for December is the element of Air. I'll be posting about the theme throughout the month and you can feel free to use it to inspire your creations, follow your own muse, or do some combination. I'll be posting more about the theme later today, along with some ideas to get you started if you need them!

For Day 30 of Art Every Day Month, I played again with fluid acrylics on watercolor paper. I started to feel like the last few days have been pages of a story that I don't know the end to. By creating intuitively, I didn't know what the next page was going to hold, but they still seemed to tie together into a story. It was fun being surprised by what came next each day. I'm calling this one "Homecoming" and it's about 10"x9".

This month has been the fastest moving Art Every Day Month for me yet! It truly flew by! I so appreciate the wonderful energy created by this great group. And while I'm ready for a break from posting every day, I will miss it. Thank goodness we get to do it again next year!

In the meantime, there's still the Creative Every Day Challenge. Tomorrow, I'll have a post about December's optional theme of "Air." And I'll also be posting later this week about the 2011 Creative Every Day Challenge and how you can sign-up and join in.

For day 29 of Art Every Day Month, I wanted to play on watercolor paper and fluid acrylics again. I had a totally different idea in mind when I started, but after I got going, I had to follow where the art took me, which was to this purple forest! It's about 10"x11".

I can hardly believe the month is coming to an end! This one totally flew by. I'll say thank you to all you amazing creatives tomorrow, but in the meantime, I hope the final day of Art Every Day Month is a beautiful one for you!